India, April 18 -- The BJP-led Mahayuti government's decision to make Hindi a compulsory third language in primary schools in Maharashtra has drawn a sharp political backlash from some opposition parties.

"We are Hindu, not Hindi. If you try to paint Maharashtra as Hindi, then a conflict will be inevitable in the state," said Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), on Thursday. He said his party would not tolerate the "imposition of Hindi" and would not allow schools to distribute books in Hindi, or bookshops from selling such books.

The Congress, for its, part, sees the move as "an injustice to the Marathi language". The party also believes that exerting pressure on the states goes against the fundamental principl...